Who's the turkey now? Texas A&M, LSU ink deal to play on Thanksgiving

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Christian Randolph/Staff Photographer

Texas A&M running back Ben Malena (1) stretches for the end zone and scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against LSU at Kyle Field in College Station, TX. on Saturday Oct. 20, 2012. (Christian Randolph/The Dallas Morning News)

Texas A&M will resume its tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving on Nov. 27, 2014, replacing long-time Turkey Day rival Texas with SEC West opponent LSU.

The positioning is meant to stoke and elevate the rivalry between the Aggies and Tigers, who have a memorable history of 51 games, though only two of them have been played since 1995.

“It has all the trappings of a great rivalry — passionate fan bases, bordering states, close proximity, unmatched traditions and history,” A&M athletic director Eric Hyman said in a statement. “College football’s rivalry weekend is the perfect home for the [game].”

When the bitter Aggies-Longhorns duel ended on a wild Thanksgiving night in College Station in 2011 — Texas 27, A&M 25 — both programs set out to find replacements. It is debatable whether the void for both schools has been filled, following Wednesday's announcement of the 2014 SEC schedule.

Texas, which said it had no room for A&M as a nonconference opponent when the Aggies left for the SEC, filled in with TCU in 2012 and has Texas Tech scheduled for this Thanksgiving. The 2014 Big 12 schedule has not been released, but it’s likely Texas will host TCU again on the holiday. UT has expressed an interest in hosting a game every Thanksgiving.

A&M had to wait as the SEC sorted through scheduling issues caused by the additions of A&M and Missouri, and will spend its second-straight Thanksgiving without a game. But it was clear the Aggies had targeted LSU — with their shared history and border and the Tigers’ three national championships and 11 SEC titles — to bring pizzazz to the featured game.

When future schedules are announced, A&M will likely hope to host LSU every other Thanksgiving, at the least during that weekend. LSU does not plan to play on the holiday when it hosts the Aggies, LSU confirmed.

The Aggies are replacing Arkansas as LSU’s traditional opponent to end the regular season. The 2014 Thanksgiving game will be LSU’s first on the holiday since 1973, when the Tigers hosted Alabama. LSU leads A&M, 28-20-3, including a win over the Aggies at Kyle Field in 2012.

Also revealed Wednesday: A&M will open 2014 at South Carolina on Thursday, Aug. 28. It will be the debut game for the SEC Network, likely a savvy move by ESPN to nudge cable providers in population-rich Texas not to dally in picking up the new network.

A&M and Arkansas also return Sept. 27, 2014, to AT&T Stadium in Arlington after a two-year break to ease the Aggies’ transition to the SEC. The schools have a deal with the Cowboys to play there from 2014-2024 and played there from 2009-2011 in nonconference games.

Along with South Carolina, A&M will play Missouri from the East Division, the third straight year the cross-division opponents will meet after both left the Big 12. The Aggies’ 2014 nonconference schedule is expected to be announced in the near future.

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